No cricket on terrestrial TV is also a major reason for the decline in participation over the last 10 years. The ECB sold their sole to the devil and don't care because they are now rich men. I'm a PE teacher and very few pupils I asked know who Alistair Cook is, which I find shocking for what is supposed to be our number 1 summer sport. Without seeing cricket and being inspired by players how are they going to get into loving the sport. I was 11 when I watched Botham's Ashes in awe and have been hooked on cricket ever since. Who are the youths cricket heroes now?

People stopped going to watch county cricket when central contracts started. People used to go to see Alan Donald, Curltley Ambrosee etc steaming in and seeing a dean jones , mark Waugh play against them let alone our own international superstars. It was exciting for not only the older ones but for junior cricketers to see the best competing against county players who perhaps originate from their club side were a massive influence on there ambitions.

I'm certain it's mainly down to demographics and the labour market. Back in the day when we were an industrial nation guys worked at the factory or forge all week and their wives largely stayed at home doing an equally important job. They also realised that their other half needed some fresh air in his lungs at the weekend. In my old area the league teams were largely the big employers and competition was fierce.But now that both halves need to work to have a decent standard of living, and employers tend to have smaller workforces, there just aren't the numbers. Add to that the disappearance of works sports and social clubs, some of which had county standard grounds (I bet Mr Aldred might have played at a few) and there is your answer. The same thing happened with match angling, which, similar to cricket, is the best part of a day gone from the weekend. Nowadays our fresh air comes from visits to garden centres or doing the weekly shop. It's a clock that ain't ever going to turn back.

Logged

'His was a cameo of savage cuts and pulls - the tragedy being that none made contact with the ball.'

I fell in love with cricket watching it as a kid with my nan and granddad and then going outside to learn the 'Vaughan' Cover Drive. If it was last summer I wouldn't have seen any of it and probably never taken cricket up.

Cricket needs to be free to air. If the ECB want to continue to sell out the men's game to Sky why not put the women's games on free to air?

learnt today that in my area another couple of clubs including a wepl club are on the brink of folding due to losing grounds and simply no way to get a new one of required standards. I know from one team, the wepl one... out of their normal squad of 14... 6 have said they won't bother finding another club, 2 more say they will probably stop as they are in the early 30's and have young families and only keep going because it's 'their club'.. the rest are early/mid 20's so will probably more and continue.. THat's a fair loss to the game really though